The rise of free content and ease of entry into the field has us getting more “journalism” … but less real information. Opinion writers (like me) are a dime a dozen. Amateur stringers and glorified copy editors cover five-point-lede “hard news” on the cheap. But the shock troops of news, full-time investigative journalists, have to learn the ropes and they have to be paid. That’s not happening. The result: Many important things get missed and many things that aren’t missed get only insufficient, inaccurate — or worst, sponsor viewpoint biased — coverage.
Tag: history
The State Should Be Abolished
There is no threat which has ever existed in the history of mankind which even approaches the threat posed by the state to the lives, liberty, and property of the individual.
Kavanaugh: A Little Perspective, Please
In what universe does not getting a gig as one of the nine most powerful judges in the United States equate to having one’s life “ruined” or “destroyed?” Don’t worry too much for Brett Kavanaugh. He’s going to be fine.
A Continuous Series of Cultural Appropriations
Cultural appropriation has been our salvation and our glory as a species. It is the way in which discoveries and inventions have been disseminated among the human population. To condemn it is stupid.
Flawed Narratives
The vast majority of how we view the past is based on poor statistical knowledge, poor historical records, feelings of superiority, false moral ideals of “progress,” victors determining the “truth,” and general narratives that support interpreters dogma.
Gratitude in an Unfree World
Above all, I am grateful for the people who have loved me and whom I have loved in return. My old friends have been loyal, my newer ones appreciative and kind. Very seldom have I been betrayed or abandoned. I have enjoyed relatively good physical health, with no major diseases or injuries in my life since infancy.
Two Cheers for Trump’s Declassification Order
On September 17, Politico reports, US president Donald Trump partially declassified a government surveillance application targeting former campaign consultant Carter Page and directed the US Department of Justice to publicly release text messages relating to the “Russiagate” probe between former FBI Director James Comey and other DoJ/FBI personnel.
To Do Great Damage
Probably the most significant of the reasons why the state won’t lose its powers is that the great majority of people everywhere want it to have those powers. They also want, of course, the state to use its powers in ways that feather their nests and make life miserable for people they dislike.
Political Boycotts with Taxpayer Money? Just Don’t Do It
All well and good. One nice thing about markets is that they’re hyper-democracies in which we all get to vote with our patronage, every day and with every purchase. Unfortunately, some people think they’re entitled to vote with other people’s dollars. Marshall Fisher, head of Mississippi’s Department of Public Safety, is one such.
The Day Cops Surrounded Me
I used to give a presentation on the mountainmen of the Rocky Mountain fur trade each year for fourth grade at the local elementary school. I went to the classroom in full mountainman gear and talked about the history and the tools. I gave a few demonstrations to the kids, such as showing how to set a steel trap, start a fire without matches (both with flint and steel and with a bow drill; the kids’ favorite), and how to load a muzzleloading rifle.